Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi

Born in 1207 in Balkh, in present-day Afghanistan, he later settled in Konya in Anatolia, where he lived much of his adult life. He was known in full as Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi and was respected not only as a poet, but also as a religious teacher and scholar.

A turning point in his life came with his meeting with the wandering mystic Shams-e Tabrizi. That deep spiritual friendship is often described as the spark that transformed his writing, leading to some of his most passionate and memorable poetry on divine love, loss, and union.

Rumi died in 1273, but his work never faded. His major writings, especially the Masnavi, have made him a lasting voice in world literature, admired by readers who come to him for both beauty of language and a sense of inward searching.